10 things to know before visiting Israel, the West Bank and Gaza

Updated 2150 GMT (0550 HKT) March 25, 2015

Photos: A look inside Jerusalem14 photos

A look inside Jerusalem – Daily life in Jerusalem: A boy plays with a soccer ball in front of the Dome of the Rock. It's one of several key religious sites, all contained within a tiny area, making anyone's first visit to the Old City unforgettable.

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Photos: A look inside Jerusalem14 photos

Dome of the Rock – Ultra-Orthodox Jews look out over the Dome of the Rock. Israel took control of the eastern part of the ancient city in 1967 and considers Jerusalem its capital, but the international community doesn't recognize its claim of sovereignty over East Jerusalem. Palestinians maintain that the eastern part of Jerusalem should serve as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

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Photos: A look inside Jerusalem14 photos

The Western Wall – A man sticks a note into the Western Wall. This is part of the original Jewish temple complex in the Old City.

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Photos: A look inside Jerusalem14 photos

A country of museums – People look at the Isaiah Scroll, one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, in the vault of the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum. With more than 200 museums, Israel has the highest number of museums per capita in the world. Here is a list of 10 of the best.

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Photos: A look inside Jerusalem14 photos

'Where Jesus walked' – Christian pilgrims hold a wooden cross as they take part in the Good Friday procession along the Via Dolorosa. The Via Dolorosa leads to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Christian tradition says Jesus was crucified and buried.

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Photos: A look inside Jerusalem14 photos

A city with its own medical condition – Jewish men attend the Kohanim prayer, or priest's blessing, for Passover in April 2011. The city has its own medical condition, Jerusalem Syndrome. About 100 tourists each year succumb to the psychiatric disorder linked to the city's atmosphere of intensity.

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Photos: A look inside Jerusalem14 photos

Life amid holy sites – In among the holy sites, daily life roars on: Souks crowd the narrow, stone-flagged alleyways; children go to school; libraries jostle with restaurants. Here, a soldier buys candy at the Mahane Yehuda Market.

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Photos: A look inside Jerusalem14 photos

A look inside Jerusalem – Children play in a fountain at a park in Jerusalem.

Photos: A look inside Jerusalem – Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock are seen in March 2010.

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Photos: A look inside Jerusalem14 photos

A look inside Jerusalem – A child walks through a gap in the concrete blocks of a security wall in the West Bank village of Eizariya, east of Jerusalem, in 2003. Take a walking tour of East Jerusalem or a pilgrimage to the Palestinian city of Bethlehem, and you'll run into Israel's infamous security barrier.

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Photos: A look inside Jerusalem14 photos

Identity – A Palestinian woman and a teenager collect laundry in their home as ultra-Orthodox Jews attend a funeral in 2010.

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Photos: A look inside Jerusalem14 photos

Photos: A look inside Jerusalem – Worshipers gather in the rotunda of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on the eve of Easter Sunday in April 2011.

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Photos: A look inside Jerusalem14 photos

Mount of Olives – Tombs sit covered in snow at the Jewish cemetery at the Mount of Olives. There are spectacular views at the summit.

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Story highlights

Jerusalem offers the chance to see many of the world's major religions in one city

An often neglected aspect is the countryside, which is great for hiking

World-renowned chef, best-selling author and Emmy-winning television personality Anthony Bourdain returns for the second season of CNN's showcase for coverage of food and travel. "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown" is shot entirely on location and airs on CNN International. Bourdain's first stop this series: Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Catch the repeat this Friday, Sept. 20 at 10 p.m. HK and Sunday at 9 a.m. HK or watch it online here. Follow the show on Twitter and Facebook.

At the Dead Sea you can float away at Ein Bokek, where the salty waters of this inland lake effortlessly support your body.

2. Identity is complicated

Onlookers frequently cast the conflict here as simply between Jews and Arabs.

Axe-grinders on both sides like to evoke an enduring death-struggle between Muslims and Jews.

But for long stretches of history, no such struggle existed.

In truth, the problems of the last century or so are both religious and political -- and it's worthwhile knowing who's who.

Most Israelis (a political identity) are Jewish (a religious identity) -- and most take pride in their country's ethnic diversity. European Jews, Russian Jews, African Jews, American Jews, Arab Jews and many others mix more or less freely.

There's a reason for that. If you can satisfy Israel's religious establishment that you're Jewish -- according to complicated rules of birth, ancestry or conversion -- you instantly become entitled to Israeli citizenship and state benefits.

Palestinians (a political identity) -- most of whom are Arab (a cultural identity) -- are chiefly Muslim, but there are substantial minorities of Palestinian Christians and others.

3. The security barrier is worth seeing

Take a walking tour of East Jerusalem, such as those run by Green Olive Tours, or a pilgrimage to the Palestinian city of Bethlehem -- where Jesus was born -- and you'll run into Israel's infamous security barrier.

Israel built this barrier to keep suicide bombers from getting to Israel. It's eight meters (26 feet) high in places and includes concrete barricades, gates, barbed wire and patrol roads. While it has reduced the number of bombing attempts, it has also kept Palestinians from moving freely between the West Bank and Israel proper.

Most of the barrier runs inside West Bank territory, rather than on the boundary line.

Al-aqsa and the Dome of the Rock stand on a hill known as the Noble Sanctuary, or the Temple Mount, considered holy by Muslims, Jews and Christians as the place where Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son.

In terms of religious significance, that's quite a plateful.

And among the holy sites, daily life roars on: souks crowd the narrow, stone-flagged alleyways, children go to school, libraries jostle with restaurants.

An hour away from Jerusalem, over on the coast, secular-minded Tel Aviv swings along amid beach parties, designer brands and hipster attitudes.

During the Jewish Shabbat -- the day of rest, which runs from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset -- western Jerusalem remains quiet in prayerful contemplation, but Tel Aviv lives the high life, with seaside promenades, crowded stores and lounge bars packed.

This hedonistic city, gazing west into the Mediterranean sunset, has also carved out a new identity as a gay capital, offering a uniquely accommodating welcome to LGBT visitors and residents.

In a country where the Jewish religious establishment generally calls the shots, Tel Aviv embodies a bubble of liberality and easygoing apathy.

8. Countryside walks are fantastic

The West Bank is crisscrossed by walking trails. Many are devoted to nature, some -- such as Birzeit's Sufi Trails -- to culture.

One of the best is the Abraham Path, linking the Palestinian cities of Nablus, Bethlehem and Hebron in a two-week trek. It's also manageable in shorter day-stages, with overnight stops at homestays and rural guesthouses.

Israelis have a long tradition of nature tourism, centered on national parks, wildlife reserves and forest walks, including the stunning Jesus Trail, which coils through the hills above the sparkling Sea of Galilee.

Visitors can plug into Israel's network of "zimmers" -- rural B&Bs ranging from farm stays to exclusive country retreats.

9. When you visit Israel, you're also visiting biblical Palestine

When you visit as a tourist, you're visiting two distinct places.

See only one, and you see only part of the whole picture.

The sovereign state of Israel came into being -- apologies for the euphemism, and for glossing over the previous few millennia of history -- in 1948, on a sliver of land along the Mediterranean coast, in the northern hills and the southern deserts, adding the western districts of Jerusalem after an initial outbreak of fighting with its Arab neighbors.

This is where Israeli culture and the Hebrew language thrive.

The eastern parts of Jerusalem (including the ancient walled Old City), plus the kidney-shaped piece of West Bank that surrounds Jerusalem on three sides, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights did not form part of the modern state of Israel at its creation in 1948, but they came under Israel's control during the 1967 war.

Since then, Israel has effectively annexed East Jerusalem, putting it and other adjacent areas in the West Bank under full Israeli government control, while greatly expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank. At the same time, it unilaterally pulled its military and settlers out of Gaza, but has maintained control over the area's borders (with the exception of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt).

The international community deems Israel's presence in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as an illegal occupation.

These areas are where Palestinian culture and the Arabic language are strongest.

A Palestinian state, should one ever materialize alongside Israel, is likely to be centered on that kidney-shaped territory, known to most of the world as the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip along the Mediterranean.

Pockets of Israeli culture thrive across the West Bank in "settlements" -- Jewish-only townships whose presence is widely seen as contravening international law.

And pockets of Palestinian culture remain strong across Israel, from the urban clamor of Jaffa and Haifa to rural hamlets in the countryside and desert.

10. It's prickly outside, but sweet inside

Sabra is the Hebrew word for cactus fruit -- prickly on the outside, sweet in the middle. It's also how native-born Israelis proudly describe themselves.

The metaphor is apt. Social graces aren't high on Israel's list of priorities, and service in shops and restaurants can be brusque.

But if you peel away the prickly exterior, there's generally warmth and affability beneath. Maybe even a smile.

Intriguingly, the same word in Arabic, saber, connotes patience and tenacity. Tough hedges of cactus are still used to mark land boundaries across the West Bank, and the idea is linked to a key concept in Palestinian self-identity -- sumud, meaning steadfastness or quiet resolve.